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West Chester finance director reports roughly $27 million cash position; plans $2 million interfund write-off request
Summary
West Chester Finance Director Barb Leonte told the borough finance committee on July 9 that the borough began and ended June with roughly $27 million in cash and that she will ask the committee next month to approve a write-off of roughly $2 million to clear long‑standing interfund receivables.
West Chester Finance Director Barb Leonte told the borough’s finance committee on July 9 that the borough entered June with roughly $27 million in cash and ended the month at a similar level after about $2 million in receipts and roughly $2 million in transfers between funds.
Leonte said interfund "due to/due from" balances are a little over $2.9 million and that she will ask the committee next month to approve a write-off of about $2 million to remove several longstanding interfund receivables. She described the balances as originating from activity largely between 2016 and 2019 and tied to legacy funds the borough no longer uses, including a recreation fund and a debt fund. Leonte said the auditor from Veil will address these balances when presenting the borough’s 2024 audited financial statements next week and cautioned that lenders could view material interfund balances as a potential weakness when the borough seeks new debt in the market.
On the year-to-date variance report through June 30, Leonte reported several favorable lines: prior real estate tax receipts were roughly $58,000 better than budget, business privilege tax about $43,000 better than budget, and interest income about $46,000 over budget. Street-opening revenue was about $75,000 above budget. The single material over-budget line she noted was zoning, about $23,000, attributable to third-party expenses within the zoning department.
Committee members asked about building permit revenue, which is running below the 2025 budget. Leonte said the budget assumed several large projects would come online and that, to date, she has not seen the anticipated permit revenue. When asked about reserves, she reported the borough’s capital reserve is slightly over $9 million.
Leonte framed the planned write-off as an administrative cleanup that she will bring back with supporting analysis and a proposed amount next month. No public comments were offered on the budget at the meeting.
The finance committee did not take a formal vote on the write-off at this meeting; Leonte said she will return with documentation and an action request at the next meeting.
